


Feathers

by ImOutOfMyVulcanMind (LoopyLu94)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Post Earth-X, Wing Grooming, Wingfic, and Earth-X, talk of nazis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28364835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoopyLu94/pseuds/ImOutOfMyVulcanMind
Summary: After the events of the incursion from Earth-X, you take a moment to unwind and begin to heal with help from an unexpected party.
Relationships: Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Feathers

Walking into the small converted bedroom you were currently calling home, you groaned quietly as you rolled your sore shoulders. After the events of the last few days, you were bone-weary and wanted nothing more than to fall face-first onto your bed and sleep for a week like all the others had done. You weren’t lucky enough to get to do that, and probably wouldn’t be for some time though. Caitlin had taken care of your injuries, but there were still some grooming issues to take care of. **  
**

Stripping out of the top layer of your suit and tossing it onto your bed, you stood in front of the large mirror, the one requirement you’d asked for, and let your wings unfurl. You’d had them for as long as you could remember, but you still loved the soft pebble grey feathers tipped in teal, even if sometimes they could be a pain. You stretched them out fully, carefully twisting and turning to examine the damage. The fights that had happened since Barry and Iris’ failed wedding had taken their toll and left countless feathers broken and bent and now that the adrenaline had worn off, the pain had settled in. Before you had any chance of rest, you’d have to groom them, removing the damaged feathers so new ones could grow in their place. 

A necessary, but tedious job, especially by yourself.

Wincing when bruised ribs protested at your twisted stretching, you started to slowly pluck out the dead feathers.

A rap on your door distracted you from the task. You hadn’t closed the door fully, so when you looked up into the mirror, you were surprised to see Harry standing there.

“Hey,” you greeted, turning to face him. “Everything okay? I thought you’d be asleep by now.”

“Yeah. Yeah, everything’s fine.” Harry shifted awkwardly, running a hand through already messed hair. “I wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“I’m fine, just,” you gestured towards your wings, “need to take care of these.”

Harry nodded. “Do…do you need a hand? Snow said you hurt your ribs…it must be painful.”

“Oh. I mean, yeah, a little, but I can manage. It’s been a long few days, I don’t want to keep you up.”

“I don’t mind.”

Chewing the inside of your cheek for a moment, you nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”

Harry moved quickly, entering your room and closing the door behind him. You turned back to face the mirror, just so you could watch him stand behind you. His razor-sharp focus was purely on your wings as you stretched them out once again, and you knew he was studying everything about them, the way they moved, how they moved. With anyone else that kind of scrutiny would’ve made you uncomfortable, you’d experienced first hand recently the kind of intrigue they brought, but not with Harry. With him, it felt different. Better.

You cleared your throat. “You’re looking for any obviously broken feathers or any that are loose.”

Harry’s nod was subtle. Then his fingers were brushing over them, running one through his fingers and a shiver ran down your spine. Of course, he noticed, immediately drawing back. “Did that hurt?”

“No! No, you’re good. It’s just that other people don’t touch them often, and the last ones to do so were y’know-”

“Nazis.”

“Yeah.”

Blue eyes met yours in the reflection, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

You offered a smile. “I know.”

Harry returned the smile briefly, and you could’ve sworn the tips of his ears had turned pink in the low light, then his gaze left yours and his hands returned to the wings.

He was methodical in his work, just like with everything else he did, carefully running his fingers through the grey and blue section by section, carefully removing the ruined and the dead, and letting them drop into the canvas bag you kept for this purpose. It hurt a little on occasion when he was forced to pluck a fractured feather that hadn’t quite come loose, but it was the good kind of pain you’d come to associate with healing and regrowth.

Soon though, even the pain was gone, and it was just the soothing sensation of Harry surely but carefully double-checking his work, and ridding the last of the loose feathers. Your eyes fluttered shut on their own, getting lost in the feeling of the tension draining away. His touch was only on your wings still, but it felt like every muscle in your body was unwinding.

“They’re sensitive,” Harry said softly, breaking the silence that had fallen.

“Yeah.” You opened your eyes again to find that Harry was watching your face now as he worked. Heat spread up the back of your neck and over your cheeks. “Having them touched can hurt like hell…or it can feel amazing, and the touch needed to do either doesn’t vary much.”

“No one would blame you for never letting anyone touch them.”

“I don’t, usually. You’re the first person I’ve willingly allowed in years.”

“Me? Why?”

“Because I trust you.”

The corners of his mouth quirked up. “I hope I live up to it.”

“I know you will.”

Harry swallowed, dropping his eyes back to his hands. He was still carding his fingers through the feathers, with less trained efficiency but slower. They were movements no longer designed to groom and tend, both of you knew that task had been completed, but for enjoyment. You wondered if he liked the downy texture sliding along skin. 

“Are you really okay?” Harry asked after another minute. “Allen, he said they took you from the rest of them, to experiment…”

“I won’t lie and say it was pleasant. It hurt and I was scared, but I’ll be fine.”

“If…if you want to talk about it…I’m not good at comforting, but I can listen. Offer a glass of brandy.”

You laughed softly, “I might take you up on that. But I’d say you’re pretty good at the comforting too. Having you here has helped tonight. Thank you.”

“Thank you, for letting me. I didn’t know if it’d be best to wait until tomorrow, but I couldn’t. I had to see you were okay. When I found out they’d taken you, I…I realized that one of my biggest fears was something happening to you.”

Harry’s words struck deep inside your chest, and you forced yourself to free your wings from his fingers so you could turn to face him once again. “That’s funny, because all that time over there, I was worried about what they were doing to you. I had no idea if you were…if you were even still alive and that thought was worse than anything they could’ve done to me.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Ditto.”

Harry raised a hand to your cheek, and on instinct, you leaned into the touch. “Maybe some good did come out of all this,” you whispered.

Harry huffed a laugh, brushing a thumb over your cheekbone. “Yeah.” A long moment passed, both of you watching the other, but neither knowing what to do. “It’s late,” he said finally, “I should let you rest.”

He started to pull away, but you caught his wrist. “Stay. Please?”

His answer was immediate. “Okay.” He glanced over at the bed, barely big enough for two. 

“I know, it’ll be a tight squeeze. If it’s any help Felicity said she’d have my official Earth-1 ID ready soon, so I can get a proper place with a proper bed.”

Harry chuckled, “That’ll be an improvement. Not that I’m objecting to squeezing in.”

You laughed and kissed his cheek. “Of course you’re not.” 


End file.
